Yoga for Healing Relationships

You can do this short couples sequence with a partner or a friend with endless benefits of practicing together, including deepening poses, trust, compassion and understanding. Find a calm space where you both can feel relaxed and enjoy yourselves!

Forward Fold & Heart Opener

Begin sitting back to back with your partner, as close to eachother as possible. 

Forward fold: Begin to fold forwards over the legs coming into a forward fold as your partner follows your movement backwards coming into a chest opener. Your legs can be as bent as they need to be and only fold forwards as much as feels comfortable. 

Heart opener: As you fold over your partner only relax and use as much body weight as your partner is okay with.  Communicate with eachother as you get into the pose, making sure both of you are comfortable. 

Close your eyes and remain in the pose from five breaths up to a couple of minutes before you switch positions. 

Twist & Meditation

Twist Bend in the legs coming into a comfortable crosslegged position. Begin to come into a twist to the right as you support each other back to back to keep the spine as straight as possible. Place your left hand on your right knee and your right hand on your partners knee. Remain in the twist from five deep breaths up to a couple of minutes before twisting to the other side. 

Meditation Support eachothers posture as you close your eyes and bring your awareness inwards. You can set an alarm for how long you wish to meditate, from five minutes up to twenty. Increasing  compassion and presence in your relationship.

Namaste

My soul honors your soul. I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides. 

I honor the light, love, truth, beauty and peace within you, because it is also within me. 

In sharing these things we are also united, we are the same. 

We are one.

Emotional Balance Meditation

A meditation for emotional balance, to strengthen the sacral chakra

For more information on the sacral chakra, click here

• Set a timer for how long you wish to meditate, recommended time 10-20 minutes. If you're new to meditating, I advise you to start with shorter mediations and successively lengthen the time.
  

• If comfortable, sit on the heels for this meditation. Option to sit crosslegged if sitting on the heels bothers the ankles or knees.
  
  
• Lengthen the spine, slightly lower the chin towards the cheast and lower down the shoulders away from the ears.
  
  
• Place the hands on top of eachother in your lap, palms facing up. Left hand under the right with the tips of the thumbs touching eachother gently.
  

• Close the eyes and allow yourself to turn inwards, and take a couple of deep breaths to anchor yourself in this moment.
  
  
• Begin to visualize a bright orange spinning wheel bellow the belly button at your lower abdomen, the location for the sacral chakra.
  
  
• Chant the mantra VAM silently to yourself to activate the sacral chakra.
  
  
• Whenever you notice yourself being caught up in a thought or feeling, practice observing whatever arises without labeling it as "good" or "bad", "pleasant" or "unpleasant", it simply IS. 
  
  
• Instead of trying to get rid of a thought or feeling, be the observer and awareness behind it. If you need to, you can breathe with the feeling or observe a thought for a while before you gently bring your awareness back to silently repeating your mantra, Vam, Vam, Vam as you visualize the spinning wheel of orange energy at your lower abdomen.

Namaste

Feed your Creativity

The second chakra vibrates orange energy and therefore orange food, such as carrots, pumpkin, squash, oranges, persimmons and mangoes are considered to support and balance the sacral chakra.

Water is the element of the second chakra, so make sure you drink enough water and stay hydrated throughout the day. Sweet fruits and spices like melon, strawberries, passion fruit, coconut, cinnamon, vanilla and raw honey can also give your creativity a boost.

Let your creativity flow in the kitchen to experiment with different foods and recipes.

Photo and delicious pumpkin stew made by an inspiring friend of mine, Elle. Follow her instagram account, Therapykitchen, for healthy eating inspiration and food for the eye, body and soul!

Yoga to Release and Let go

This yin yoga practice is a hip opening sequence and according to yogic philosophy we store emotions in all our cell tissues, especially in the hips. As you move through this sequence, be gentle with yourself and listen to the sensations that arise both on a physical and mental level. By staying muscularly passive in these poses for three minutes it gently stresses the connective tissues. By opening up the physical body we can let go of tightness, of holding on to unhealthy memories and emotions. See if you can observe the feelings that arise and observe them without getting attached to them. Practice using your breath to breathe through any physical and mental sensations, thoughts and feelings as they arise, using the exhales to let go.

"Yoga is about clearing away whatever is in us that prevents our living in the most full and whole way" 

- Cybele Tomlinson

Before you begin, lie down on your back and close your eyes. Begin to deepen your breath to calm the mind. Set an intention for your practice to release and let go of any unhealthy emotions, memories, stress or anything that comes to your mind that dosent serve you anymore. 

1. Supta Padangusthasana. Bend in the right knee towards your chest and extend the leg. Place a strap around the ball of the foot and hold onto it with your hands, lower down the shoulders away from the ears and begin to draw in the leg towards yourself. You can make a strap out of almost anything, a piece of clothing, a belt or a scarf. You can keep the knee slightly bent and try to relax the body as much as possible even though you have to engage some muscular activity to remain in the pose. Stay in the position for three minutes, before switching leg. 

2. Happy Baby. Bend both knees and take a hold of the outside edges of the feet. With the help of the hands draw the knees down towards the armpits. Option to do half happy baby, bending in one leg at a time. Remain in the position for three minutes before hugging in the knees towards your chest and rocking gently side to side to massage the back. 

3. Swan/sleeping swan. From lying on your back, come to stand on all fours and bring your right knee forwards towards your right hand. Begin to lower down the right hip towards the ground, if your right hip is lifted you can place a blanket or pillow under the sitbone. Either remain seated supporting yourself on your hands or option to lower down onto the forearms, maybe even to lower down the forehead to the hands. Remain in the pose for three minutes before you slowly move into swan pose or sleeping swan variation on the other leg. 

4. Savasana. Final relaxation, lie on your back with your legs apart so that the hip can relax. Take a couple of sighing exhalations through the mouth. Exhaling out any last tension or stress stored in the body or the mind, creating space for new and better opportunities instead. Remain in savasana for at least three minutes before slowly awakening yourself and thank yourself for taking the time to practice yoga today.

Namaste

Nadi Shodhana

Nadi shodhana or alternate nostril breathing is a breathing technique that calms the nervous system and balances the left and the right side of the brain. This breathing technique is ideal to do as preparation before your physical yoga practice or to clear and center the mind for meditation.

Nadi shodhana can also be practiced anytime during the day, as the first thing you do in the morning, on your coffee break, when you get home after a long day or before you go to bed in the evening. Especially if you are having a hard time falling asleep, give nadi shodhana a chance! Ironically the perfect time to take a couple of minutes for yourself is when you think there is no time, since this breathing technique can reduce stress and anxiety and balance your hormones. 

If you are new to practicing breathing techniques avoid holding the breath in the beginning and just alternate nostrils as you focus on calming the breath without forcing the breath. When you begin to feel more comfortable with the technique you can successively begin to hold the breath as a part of your practice.

Photos by Saara Oiononen 

1. Find a comfortable seated position with a straight spine and close the eyes. 

2. Place your right hand in front of you, lower down the middle finger and the index finger.

3. Cover your right nostril with your thumb and breathe in through the left nostril for a count of six. 

4. Close of both nostrils and hold your breath for a count of six.

5. Exhale completely through the right nostril for a count of six. 

6. At the bottom of your exhale breathe in deeply through the right nostril, close of both nostrils, hold the breath and exhale through the left nostril. Continue to inhale and exhale as you alternate nostrils from a couple of rounds up to five, 10 or 15 minutes. 

7. To finish your breathing technique exhale through the left nostril and lower down the palm to your knee. Keep the eyes closed as you keep your awareness inwards and notice if you can experience any effects of breathing technique for a while before you begin your meditation, yoga practice or gently open the eyes to continue your day with a calm, centered and balanced mind, body, soul. 

Namaste

Morning mantra

If your sacral chakra is out of balance (for more info click here), this is a powerful affirmation for you to repeat daily out loud or silently to yourself. 

Write, draw or make a painting out of this affirmation and place it somewhere you can see it often, 

let your creativity blossom!

Yoga for Flow and Flexibility

This fast-paced Vinyasa Flow Yoga routine is designed to balance the Sacral chakra. Flowing movements unlock creativity and supports a healthy flow of emotions and thoughts. Take this time for yourself to do what feels good, to find your own flow for a flexible body and flexible mind. 

Click on photo to watch video, enjoy! Namaste 

Filmed and edited by Saara Oinonen

Chakra of the month: Sacral Chakra

The second chakra is the Sacral Chakra, located between the pelvis and navel (about three fingers below the belly button) and is considered the seat for our emotions. The sanskrit name is Svadhistana but is often called the creative or sexual chakra because of its connection to passion and pleasure. The element of the sacral chakra is water, and its energy is movement and flow. 

Balanced Sacral Chakra: Feelings and creativity flow freely, ability to express ourselves both emotionally and creatively. Self confidence and self approval. Having a healthy relationship with ourselves in order to have healthy boundaries and relationships, both casual and sexual.

Imbalanced Sacral Chakra may occur as: Problems related to sexuality and addictive behaviors. Blocked creativity. Destructive and disconnection to emotions, feeling insecure, over sensitive, powerless and difficulties making decisions. A strong desire to "fit in", for others approval and excessive neediness in relationships. Imbalances may express themselves physically as bladder, uninary or kidney infections. 

How to Balance Svadhistana: 

- Get to know your feelings and listen to them

- Let go of unhealthy emotions, people, memories...

- Nourish your relationships

- Express yourself creatively

- Create flow in the body by doing yoga or dancing

- Swim, walk in the rain or spend time by the sea (water is the element of this chakra)

- Wear orange clothes and eat orange foods (the color of this chakra)

Yoga sequences, meditations, affirmations and more practical tips to strengthen the Sacral Chakra coming up this month :) Namaste